Harjap: “I got naked with a guy and realised I was fat – so I did something about it!”

Harjap Bal on why after hooking up with a guy he decided he had to change his ways….

If you cast your eye across Instagram, you’ll notice there are so many fellas barely wearing a stitch. While there are guys of all shapes and sizes out there it’s true to say most of the brazen fellas are sculpted and ripped. And do you know what? Some guys actually like that! But why do so many guys feel comfortable to put themselves out there in public with barely a stitch on.

GuysLikeU caught up with the gorgeous Harjap Bal who keeps his 21, 000 Instagram followers frothing at the mouth with his saucy pics to find out why he is happy to let it all hang out online. But he also reveals that he wasn’t always happy about the way he looked.

Your instagram features a lot of pictures of you not wearing very much. Do you enjoy being naked?

I love this question! What I’ve learnt is that I’m quite an exhibitionist. I do enjoy being naked, very much so … who doesn’t? Everything just hangs free. Instagram in the beginning was just a bit of fun, posting pictures of me and my friends. Soon I started getting guys and girls following my page, companies started sending me free products to advertise on my page and having photoshoots. I have been really overwhelmed by the response I get to my pictures and have gained over 20k followers.

What is it about showing off your body do you like? What feeling do you get from it?

Having been overweight as child I was always bullied at school, this lead into adulthood. It was only when my seven year relationship ended and I was a single guy man who’d hardly been on the gay scene I realised I needed to lose weight to attract guys.

Really?

As vain as that sounds it was true. My first experience going out on the gay scene was in Leeds. The men were groomed well dressed muscled and I found that attractive. Again only the past few years I feel very comfortable taking of my clothes and I like looking back at older pictures and seeing the journey I’ve taken to get where I am today.

Body image is important to you. Are you creating a body to make YOU happy or to attract attention from others?

In the beginning I was building my body to attract men most definitely. It always nice to turn heads, and have people comment on your appearance. It gives you the motivation to keep pushing harder and improve. I have found the gay scene is very image conscious. I would be lying if I said I was making my body 100% to make me happy, it’s a combination of both.

Do you think people are too easily offended by nudity?

Hell yes!!! I’ve had my pictures reported a few times, my advice to them would be to get a life and don’t follow me! Simple! If you feel confident in your own skin and you want to share that, then you should. Growing up in a Indian household, even if someone kissed my dad would change the channel, and if someone appeared naked, well, the TV got turned off!

Why do you think nudity is seen as so unacceptable?

Nudity, body shaming seems to be in the media quite a lot at the moment. I personally don’t see a problem with any gender, ages or size getting their kit off. It’s actually pretty liberating. People will say there is a time and place of that sort of thing, but nudity is everywhere, on TV adverts and posters and movies. You can’t get away from it so the people who have a problem with it either need to embrace it or not look at it.

Do you like to pose nude to cause a reaction?

For me personally I post shirtless picture purely because I want to. Vanity can be a good thing, nothing wrong with taking pride in the appearance and it’s nice to get positive compliments. As for the negative reactions, well I think that’s just jealousy. As I say, if you don’t like what someone is posting stop following that person.

What kind of messages do you get?

I get a fair few messages, lots of cock and ass pics from complete strangers, which is hilarious. But then also I get some really nice messages from followers and have made some new friends around the globe

Do you ever get funny looks from people you work with?

I keep my work very separate from my personal life, but then again my profiles are open for anyone to view so who knows.

We all know that men have a penis – why do you think showing a penis in photographs or in films is so taboo even in 2017?

This is down to British culture and the inability to be able to talk about sex and our bodies. I think sex education within schools needs a massive overhaul as it’s too mechanical, and parents need to be talking to their children about how the body changes as you grow and not be to be ashamed of it. I know for myself I started puberty at a very young age and having a beard at 14 was not cool. I had no idea what was happening to me! It can be pretty scary stuff. Every man has one and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, I love my penis. Ha!

Are you happy with your body?

I don’t think I will ever be happy with my body as I think there are always ways to improve it. Just like work, you want to keep, improving, challenging yourself. My body is the same. I work hard, train hard and eat well, but my biggest down fall is chocolate, I have that everyday.

You say you decided to get into shape after a relationship.

Yes, after my first relationship ended I was depressed for about six months and turned to food. I would eat takeaways most nights and drink fizzy drinks. A friend finally persuaded me to go out and I plucked up the courage to go out. It was only when I went out onto the scene I realised I was… well, fat! But much to my shock and horror I actually pulled a guy. We got back to mine and started kissing in the lounge. Things then moved to the bedroom and we were both naked on the bed and I saw my reflection in the mirror. I felt like I was staring at a completed stranger and could not believe I was overweight. I asked the guy to leave right at that moment and cried most of the night. But first thing in the morning I woke up grabbed a black bin liner and binned everything. It’s very therapeutic – you should all try it. Once that was done I took myself off to the gym and joined the gym. It helped that I had a very attractive PT, and I have been going every since.

Do you feel a pressure to look a certain way?

I think we all feel pressure in some ways with the way we look. Whether it’s our bodies, what clothes we are wearing, cars we drive holiday we go on. I don’t feel the pressure to look a certain way as I am confident in my own skin but I’ve battled with these pressures and I think as you get older you start caring less what people think and that’s the place I am at.

How do you keep your body the way you do?

Well I try and work out five times a week and usually in the gym at 5:30am. I’m an early bird. I do a mixture of weights and cardio. I break up each day into body parts, so Mondays tend to be back and shoulders and abs followed by 20 mins of cardio. Tuesday is legs and abs followed by cardio. Wednesday is a rest day, Thursday Chest day with abs followed by 20 mins cardio and Friday is biceps and triceps abs and cardio again. A few evenings a week I like to do a 15mile bike ride too, but I’m addicted to House of Cards at the moment, RuPauls Drag Race and Vikings so sometimes the bike might not happen. A man’s got to rest sometimes.

And diet?

I don’t really follow much of a diet plan, I know what I like to eat and it’s all about portion control. I eat lots of fruit and veg, fish, and keep the dairy intake low. Plus I like meals that only take 15 mins to cook too so the wok is my best mate.

Was it hard to start with? Did you fall off the wagon?

It is hard to stick with especially in the winter when you want to stay in doors are just eat comfort food but as they say summer bodies are made in the winter. Yes, I have fallen off the wagon plenty of times but I think that’s a good thing. Life shouldn’t be just about working out portions control, sometimes you want to have a cheat day, week, I jut have to work that bid harder in the gym to make up for that extra cake, fried chicken .

What’s your favourite body part?

My eyes. I’ve been told I’ve got come to bed eyes … but you can judge that for me!

Saucepot! Which part are not happy with?

My butt, even though I get compliments about it, I want a lot more junk in the trunk so to speak. I’m squatting and lunging so it’s a work in process.

What body part do you think other men like in you?

Well my partner loves my arms and chest and is obsessed with my cock, can I say that? Ha!

How vain are you?

Some of my friends say I’m vain, but I like to think I like to look good and take pride in my appearance. Does that make me vain?

Have you waxed or shaved your chest?

I’m a hairy guy and I bloody love it. When I was younger I hated having hair and would wax and shave but as I’ve got older I’m embracing it. I love seeing hair on a mans chest.

Do you manscape?

The only thing I shave is my head, love having head stroked – the head on my shoulders, that is.

What do you find attractive in a man’s body

I find lots of things attractive about a mans body, I like tall masculine guys with a great arse. I’m an arse man

Do you believe in types?

We all have types, yes. Its what we are attracted to at the end of the day, however if we end up with our type is entirely a different matter. Types can be beautiful body but a dull personality, looks will fade but personality I believe is forever. If a man can make me laugh, which my man does, it’s a home run.